Rachel Findley elevated her role of communications leader for Industrial Coatings, EMEA, to a new level by embracing the innovative possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). With her team, she accomplished the migration of the Industrial Coatings (IC) website in only two months from conception to launch. Currently, Rachel is exploring other creative ways to integrate AI into the digital communication strategy for the IC segment. We joined Rachel as she discussed the timely topic of AI in connection with communications.
Digital Focus: the Beginning of a Journey
Rachel joined our company in 2019 through the acquisition of Whitford, global manufacturer of low-friction and nonstick coatings for industrial applications and consumer products. Today, she serves as communications leader for Industrial Coatings, EMEA. With a diverse range of responsibilities—including regional activities, press releases, articles, and exhibitions—Rachel’s biggest passion lies in managing global digital channels for IC.
My first project in my new role was the redesign of the IC website. I love how PPG is digitally focused and the opportunities it offers to advance our digital understanding.
Together with the team, Rachel sees immense potential in identifying untapped opportunities.
"There’s so much happening that we’re constantly learning about where our business is heading. This constant learning and growth make it incredibly exciting to be part of this journey."
Rachel enjoys many aspects of her career, including the ability to take a project from the planning stage through delivery. A prime example of this was the migration of the IC website to a new platform, a project where she leveraged automation and AI.
Upping the Website Game
The previous version of the website operated on an older platform, which presented several challenges. Frequent timeouts and inconsistent uptime impacted visibility, limiting the team’s ability to respond effectively to their audience's needs and requirements.
To address this, the IC website became the first within the ppg.com family to transition to a new platform using AI. An external vendor was brought on board to manage the migration. Rachel enthusiastically shares the advantages of this approach, highlighting both time and cost savings:
From start to going live, it took just two months! It’s not only been a huge time saver but also a significant cost saver compared to a manual process, which would have required far more resources.
Rachel credits the expertise of our internal digital team and the external company in charge, as well as their focus on AI tools for the successful transition.
"Had it not been for their great team and skill set in leveraging AI, we wouldn’t have been able to complete the transition as seamlessly as we did. It also eliminated much of the manual error that typically occurs in such processes."
The results have been impressive. The IC website saw a very noticeable spike in inquiries, and the growth is continuing. Additionally, being linked to the ppg.com URL has enhanced the search engine optimization and reach.
Rachel and her team are now evaluating the quality of leads generated through the website. By feeding insights from these learning experiences back into the AI tools, they aim to further refine and develop their digital capabilities moving forward.
Winning Time and Customers With AI
Rachel is aware of the importance of maintaining our company’s position in the industry alongside our competitors. To support this, she shares that the next step is leveraging AI tools to translate the website into multiple languages.
"Previously, translations were a very manual process involving reviews and changes, which made it time-consuming and costly. Now, AI tools will help streamline these activities. The tools will continuously learn and improve, meaning the more information we feed into them, the better the translations will become."
In the EMEA region, with its wide range of languages and diverse customer expectations, this step is especially significant. Speaking to customers in their own languages is important, and it’s one of the many ways in which we as a company respond to market demands.
Future Plans Point to Powder Coatings
Looking ahead, Rachel outlines the next steps for the IC segment:
We’ll continue to build out our digital platforms, focusing on powder coatings. As such a highly valued technology for PPG, we're looking to position ourselves as the voice of expertise for the industry.
Powder coatings offer significant advantages, producing little to no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are under growing regulatory oversight around the world. Powder’s durability helps to extend asset life and minimizes the need for reapplication or maintenance, and they can be applied to a variety of surfaces beyond metal. Powder coatings can also withstand high temperatures or chemical exposure, making them ideal for demanding conditions.
“Powder coatings is an area where we’re becoming increasingly involved—not just from a communications standpoint but also in how we explore digital possibilities to expand our reach and tools to engage manufacturers."
As digital innovation and expanded communication methods become the cornerstones of future strategy, Rachel is proud to be part of a “forward-thinking company like PPG”.
"It’s at the forefront of our minds to share the messages we have rather than gatekeeping them. I believe we can always improve how we communicate, and digital channels are the perfect way to do it."